Essien calling off Melbourne deal?

Michael Essien's move to Australian side Melbourne Victory has fallen through at the eleventh hour, the club has announced.

The former Chelsea superstar was expected to join the A-League side on a 12-month guest marquee deal after agreeing his release from Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos.

But the 33-year-old failed to reach personal terms with Melbourne, with the Ghanaian calling the deal off.

The latest development has come as huge surprise after Essien had informed the club he would sign the deal which was expected to fetch him a figure in the region of $1m for the upcoming season.

“As it stands, Michael Essien won’t be joining Melbourne Victory as a guest marquee in the 2016/17 season,” a club spokesman told the Herald Sun on Thursday

“The club has been in constant discussions with Michael and his representatives, but due to some personal issues, Michael has unfortunately decided not to move to Melbourne.”

It is the second time Victory has been rebuffed in its attempts to secure a big name foreigner this off-season, with FFA knocking back the club’s bid to sign Italian Alessandro Diamanti as a guest marquee last month.

The Ghana played 256 games for Chelsea but endured an injury-ravaged 12-month stint at Greek club Panathinaikos that ended far from harmoniously.